Ribbon mechanism.



"tirr- 'MAoHiNE COMPANY, or nnNNsYLvANIA.

To'aZZ who/mit mag/concern: v Be 1tI known that I, CHARLES V. VILGUS, a

'citizen of the United States. residing at .Kingston Luzerne county.. Pennsylvania,

have invented new and useful improvements iii-Ribbon Mechanisms, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to improvements' in ribbon mechanisms andvmore particularlyV to means to automatically reverse the direce ion ofv feed ofthe ribbon. l

The invention is animprovement on the mechanism shown in United States' Letters' Patent to Wales 7965024;August=1, 1905,

.wherein the ribbon spools'are'splined on shafts which have 'ratchets fast thereto. Pawls co-nnected to the opposite arms of an oscillatory bar Adriven from ,any lsuitable source7 engage the ratchets .on the .respective shafts to turn the spools. To permit. the ribbon to be wound from one spool onto the other, one or the other ot said pawls is4 held idle by a shiftable mechanism which comprises a. pair of reversing levers 'connected to operate together and-flexibly connected to the respective pawls bygrasshopper springs. Trip 'arms controlled b v the ribbon. contact one or the other otsaid reversing levers to swing one toward itspawl wherebyT its grassy hopper spring is compressedL and act-s against its 4pawl to. disengage the latter iirom its' ratchetand to lhold said-pawl idle. Such swinging movement of one reversing lever is communicated to the remaining lever to ten sion-its grasshopper spring to'draw its pawl into 4mesh with the ratchetdrivingl the remaining spool whereby the latteris turned. A latchholds the levers where adjusted until the ribbonis unwound from the full spool whereupon the trip arm connectedwith that spool again shifts the levers to reverse the ribbon feed.

One object'of the present invention is to simplify and improve the ribbon reversing mechanism and to provide a device which may be easily and quickly assembled'wit-hL, out necessitating adjustment, whereby aconsiderable saving of time and labor is vefected.

Another object is toeii'ect the positive disengagement of the operative pawl from its ratchet, and to positively maintain said pawl in idle position.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application tiled October 16, 1911.

To THE ADLER RIBBON MECHANSM.

Patented J une 3, i913.. serial vNo. 655,013.

`Other advantages will be more fully set forth hereinafter and particularly pointed out 1n the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan.- showing the ribbon feeding from left. to right, parts being omitted. Fig. 2 is a detail perspectiveof 'a reversing lever.

.Fig 3 1s plan, showing the ribbon feed reversed; the reversing mechanism completed its stroke. Y

Ribbon spools land 2 hubs 8 on shafts et. la

having just are splined by their shown). Said types are mounted Vin--type 'jearriers or heads 7 and may be arranged in the manner shown in the well-known -Wales calculating' machine. vthough this invention `is not` restricted to that machine.

Teeth 8. on pawls L9., 9a, jointed to the oppositev arms of ay bar 1Q. .which is pivot-ed a-til. intermediate its ends and os'cillated by a link 12 driven from anv .suitablesource ot power. engage ratchets 13 splined or keyed onA the respective fshafts 4. tato turn the latter and feed the ribbon 14 in one directiouor the other. The ends of the ribbon vare secured to -the hubs 8 of the respective spools, as at 15. and pass around guides 16 on opposite sides of the printing line.

The. direction ot' feed of the ribbon is controlled b v a' reversing mechanism comprising'- spring-nressed trip arms 17. eccentrically pivoted at one end. as at 1S to the respectivespools l and 2. and of suiiicient length sothat their free ends 19 may projectbevond the peripheries of the spools. (see Fig. 3). Normallv.- the free ends ot saidtrip armsfare held within the peripheries'of thespools b vthe ribbon which. in

'winding about the hubs 3, coils ov-er pins Q0 onsaid arms and the tensionof the ribbon draws said pins into recesses 21 in the hubs 3 (Fig. l) tov swing the trip arms to inactive posit-ion.- Fig. l shows the parts in. this position. the pawl 9 being disengaged from its ratchet and idly reciprocating. and pawl 9 being engaged with its ratchet 13 toturn the ribborrspool 2 in the direction of the arrow. The ribbon. when unwound from one of the spools, as l` releases the' pin Q0 of the arm 1,7 attached to said spool, to free the arm to the action of its spring: 21a. which swings journaled in a frame 5, and-located 'on opposite sides of the points .of impact of vtypes 6 against aplat'en (not A 9, 9a to which they are iiexibly connected by pull springs Q5. Q5,4 The arm 17 presses against the lever 23 to rock the latter away from its pawl 9 (Fig. 3) and tension the spring Q5 to draw the pawl 9 into engagement witn the ratchet on shaft -il to vreverse the direction of feed of the ribbon. The

link Qi moves with the lever 23 to roc-k the lever Q3 toward its pawl. and cause a contact face 26h on said lever 23a to strike the pawl 9 or a projection 27a thereon, to positively disenga'ge the pawl 9 from its ratchet and thereby'silen'ce the pawl, to permit the ribbon spool 2 to turn idly as the ribbon is drawn off and wound on spool l.

The reversing lever has a contact face 26 to strike a projection Q7 on the pawl 9 when the direction of feed of the ribbon is again reversed.

A detent- Q8 on one lof the reversing levers, as Q3, is lengaged by a yielding latch 29 to hold the parts Where adjusted against accidental displacement. Vhen the ribbon has been uncoiled from spool 2, -a trip arm similar to arm 17. shown on spool l, is freedto strike stud Q2 on lever Q3 to again reverse the ribbon feed.

It will be noted that the operative pawl is positively disengaged from its ratchet by the contact of the adjacent reversing ylevertherewith, instead of by the action of the spring connecting the pawl and lever. and is held disengaged or silenced byv said lever which remains in the'path of return of the pawl or 'of the projection thereon, as best shown at the right in Fig. 3.

Furthermore. much time and labor is saved in assembling the ribbon mechanism, by the use of the pull springs 25, 25 which may be easily and quickly connected to their respective pawls and reversing levers withont` adjustment of tension.

It will be understood that the parts of thev ribbon mechanisln on one side are duplicated on the opposite side,.though omitted to better illustrate the invention.

That I claim as new, is

l. In a ribbon mechanisnn'the combination with ribbon spools, and pawl and ratchet feed mechanisms for the respective spools; of a reversing mechanism to alter- 'nately silence one of said feed mechanisms and render the other effective, including reversing levers for the respective spools, said levers connected to operate together; means to connect the levers with their respective feed pawls; and a ribbon-controlled trip arm for each spool adapted, when released, to shift the reversing levers to cause one of said levers to' strike and positively disengage the corresponding feed pawl from its ratchet, and substantially simultaneously therewith, to cause the other lever to engage the remaining feed pawl with its ratchet.

Q. In a ribbon mechanism` the combination with ribbon spools; feed mechanism -theref-or, including ratchets and pawls; re-

versing levers flexibly connected to the respective pawls; and means connecting the reversing levers, of trip arms controlled by the ribbon and alternately operated to shift the reversing levers, to cause one of said 1revers to strike the adjacent pawl to positively dise'ngage the latter from its ratchet and effect the engagement of the opposite pawl with its ratchet.; Aand a latch to hold the pawls where adjusted. y'

3. In a ribbon mechanism, the combination with ribbon spools; feed mechanism therefor, including a ratchet and pawl for each spool, and reversing-levers connected to ope 1ate together; of trip arms controlled by the ribbon', to shift the levers, andsilence one of said pawls; pull springsconnecting the reversing levers and pawls to effect the engagement of the other of said pavvls with its ratchet; and a latch to hold the feed mechanism where adj usted, j

et. ln a ribbon mechanism, the combination with ribbon spools; and feed mechanisms therefor,including ratchets and pawls, one oi which is idle while th other is effective; of a reversing mechanism comprising reversing levers, means connecting said levers; trip arms controlled by the ribbon to shift the reversing levers to cause one of said levers to strike and positively disengage the operative-pawl from its ratchet; pull springs connecting the levers and pawls, one of said springs being tensioned by the shifting of the levers to engage the idle pawl with its ratchet; and a lat-ch to hold the feedmechanism Where adjusted.

5.. ln a ribbon mechanism, the combination with spools; and ribbon feed mechanism, including alternately effective `pawls and ratchets; of reversing levers connected to operate together, each lever having a contact face: trip arms controlled by the ribbon, to alternately strike their adjacent reversing levers to shift one of said levers away froni'the idle pawl and the other into contact with the operative pawl to positively disengage the ylatter from its ratchet; springs connecting the levers and their adjacent pawls, to drawT the respective pawls v,into engagement with their ratchets when said levers are alternately shifted away from their paWls; and a latch to'hold Said reversing levers where adjusted against the tension of their springs', with .the lcontactl face of one of said levers in the path of the idle pavvl, to maintain the latter inoperative during the feed of tion. 1 .v i

6. A ribbon mechanism comprising a pair of ribbon spool-s;y a ratchet and pawl for the ribbon in one direceach spool; one of' said pawls engaging its ratehet to. turnthe 'ribbon spool While the other' pa-Wl remains idle, the unwinding of the ribbon from one of said spools operating' to release a swinging trip which strikesv a'revrsin'g'levertoshift it away from the idle pawl whereby to tension aspring vconnecting .the idle pawl With said lever, to

draw said-pawlinto engage1nent`With its.

ratchet toV Windthe ribbon ont-o the'einptyl spool, the shifting .of s'aid lever being com inunicatedthrough a link to a Second reversing lever to cause 4the latteritostrike its adjacent paWl to disengage tlie latter' -froinits ratchet, a Contact face on each lever against whiclrsaid disengaged pawl rides, to hold said pawl idle 'during the teedbf 'the ribbon in .one .direction-,the feed mecha- .nisln 'being held Where adjusted by a latch.

7 'A ribbon mechanism including a pair of spools; each of which is turned by a pawl vand ratchet mechanism, .said pawls being alternately held ineffective by vthe contact therewith of a reversing lever; there being a reversinglever for each pawl, o0ninected theretoby a spring' .and connected with each otherby a link, said levers beingr alternately. operated by ribbon-controlled trip arms for the respectivelspools which, as the ribbonnnwinds, are projected to rock one or the other of the reversinglevers to thereby, engage its corresponding pawl with its ratcliet'by tensioningV the spring con- 

